Mountain giant (WoW)
Mountain giants are colossal creatures, crafted by the titans when the world was young. Background Mountain giants are composed of living stone and stout flora. Crafted epochs ago by the Titans from massive sections of stone, these creatures seek to protect the natural environment from any who would cause it harm. Benevolent and solitary by nature, the mountain giants have awakened to find that the tranquil world they once helped to shape has become a hectic battlefield of fire and sorrow. Now the mountain giants have pledged their courage and strength to the night elves' cause — and stand ready to banish the last remnants of the Burning Legion from the world. These giants can take incredible amounts of punishment from attackers. The mountain giants awoke from their "timeless slumber" when the Burning Legion attacked in the Third War, apparently having helped the night elves long ago. They seem to have started sleeping when Loken initiated stasis of the giants. The mountain giants assisted the night elves not due to a desire to help them in particular, but because the night elves were the largest local force who opposed the Burning Legion. Short of a planetary threat, it is rare to see mountain giants, faerie dragons or chimaera fighting with a mortal army. However, mountain giants helped the night elves after the Battle of Mount Hyjal, and will continue to do so in Feralas if rallied. The ancient cliff giants of the southern region of Azshara consume the rock and buildings of the land for sustenance. The excrement from their consumption is a highly malleable and extremely strong crystal known as Azsharite. The formations litter the southern arc, but few are ever recovered due to the extremely violent nature of the giants. The giants devour trespassers, and their organic bodies are also transformed into Azsharite. Many heroes recover enough of the Azsharite for the creation of powerful weapon's body. The cliff giants of Feralas are extensions of the earth itself. When nature thrives, they are benevolent protectors and peaceful guardians. But when the forest is tainted, so too are they. When the mountain giants are distraught, they rage in frustration and weep, and their tears fall upon the stones as shining crystals known as Stonetears. The mountain giants are the night elves' most powerful allies of the forest. They're carved from the land itself. The mountain giants left the mountains to aid the night elves when the burning legion appeared in the world. Despite being creations of the titans, some mountain giants, like Baron Kazum, serve the Elemental Lieutenants of the Old Gods. Theradras enthralled the behemoth known as Landslide when she took up residence in Maraudon. It is unknown what the story is behind the others. Ecology Description The mountain giants of stone have northwestern Feralas as their main area, where they go under the names of Cliff Giant and Land Walker. Their natural life spans measure into the thousands of years. Mountain giants appear to adapt to their surrounding environment and take on characteristics, such as taking on a differing coloration than their standard grey and green. Mountain giants found in desert regions and other places where the soil is naturally red-tinted take on a sandy colored appearance, but their mossy covering usually remains greenish. Mountain giants found in particularly rocky areas without much greenery can carry mossy covering with a decidedly grey or silvery appearance. Society Mountain giants are hermetic, content to hide away in the remote mountains of the world. They are slow to anger, ignoring most annoyances as temporary problems that will eventually disappear. When stirred to anger, however, they are frightening and dangerous. A few years ago, they awakened to discover that the tranquil world they loved is besieged by fire and ash. They left their mountain peaks to join their old allies, the night elves, against the Burning Legion and other forces of destruction. Mountain giants do not reproduce. All mountain giants that exist today are the same creatures that the titans created at the dawn of the world, and the immortal creatures tend to be perpetual and unchanging. Thus, every mountain giant that falls in battle is one that cannot be replaced. Mountain giants can see twice as far as humans in starlight, moonlight, torchlight and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions. Mountain giants are immortal and never suffer the effects of aging, nor can they die of old age. They can die through other means, as can mortal creatures. Mountain giants eagerly enter melee combat, believing (usually correctly) that they can destroy anything with their clubs and can absorb whatever their enemies throw at them. They enter the most violent areas of melee, offering themselves as targets to protect their allies. Mountain giants use longspears formed from mountain stone. The stony hide of the mountain giant is hard and thick, providing it with some protection from magical and normal attacks. A mountain giant can throw rocks as well as any giant. A mountain giant can catch rocks as well. A mountain giant can shape an existing piece of stone into any rough shape, up to thirty cubic feet at a time. The mountain giant can also use this ability to heal itself. Mountain giants speak Darnassian and Titan. Mountain giants do not concern themselves with learning other languages, but a few of the more adventurous ones find it beneficial to speak Common. But their speech tends to be crude and dim-witted. Every once in a while, a mountain giant leaves its home in Kalimdor and travels into the larger world. An adventuring giant usually joins a particular night elf friend, but not always. Mountain giants rarely explain their actions; they simply walk out of the forests, then travel the roads, or the trackless wilderness, or board a ship without a word; perhaps they simply assume that everyone else takes it on faith that they know what they’re doing. Trivia (None) Category:Races Category:Giants Category:Humanoids Category:Creatures Category:Elementals